5 Funny Brands to Follow on Social Media

Have you ever been to a party where there's just one person trying really hard to be funny but instead ends up being awkward? (Ominous cricket sounds in the background.) We know you have. Today’s world of social networks is exactly that: a party full of people competing for attention. While some brands are great at being funny and actually entertaining people, others fail miserably. Brands tend to forget that social media for business is still social media. This means that one of their primary goals should still be to entertain people through genuinely good content.

Here are five brands that will definitely get a good laugh out of you:

Wendy’s has become notorious for “roasting” people on Twitter. The brand responds to trolls and negative comments with quirky, witty and slightly aggressive responses, and more than half of the world is laughing. Wendy’s Twitter responses are humorous because they are shedding light on negativity and reacting to it with genius. Doing this has not only increased their social media engagement but also their brand loyalty, because who doesn’t want to be around someone that fun?

Netflix completely understands what it means to be…Netflix. If you have a Netflix account, you’ve probably cancelled plans to lay down in bed and binge watch your favorite TV shows — and they completely get it! They are pretty comic because they create content that users can relate to. Most people feel ashamed when they treat themselves to a night (or nights) of binge watching — and here is Netflix telling you “Hey, it’s okay, we all do it!” By being so openly honest about the relationship that people have with their Netflix, they have created a feeling of community and built an even stronger brand loyalty.

Snickers took the “hangry” concept to a whole new level and transformed it into comedy. They have a series of videos portraying exaggerated (or maybe not so exaggerated) scenarios of what people look like when they get hangry feelings. It’s funny because hangry is actually a thing. We’ve all seen the world close down on us when we get feelings of hunger, however, seeing it on someone else is hilarious. Snickers added a little bit of comedy to the human feelings of hangry and in returned gained audience engagement and brand loyalty.

Charmin is not just toilet paper: oh, no. It is thefunniest toilet paper in the market. They have personified something that is ordinary (and related to all kinds of grossness) and given it humor. Charmin has disclosed all the nasty things that go through your mind as you’re about to enter a public restroom and it’s hilarious. It’s funny to know that other people share the same restroom feelings as you. By creating content that people can directly relate to, they have increased their brand awareness and engagement.

Cosmopolitan is you, your mom, your best friend, your boyfriend and almost every other person out there. To say that their content is funny is a huge understatement. Cosmopolitan has no shame in creating content that mentions things most people don’t feel comfortable talking about. They take all your feelings, add a little humor to them and put them out there with the idea of letting you know that it’s completely okay to feel a certain way. Cosmopolitan offers comfort through humor and because of it has exponentially increased their audience size and increased brand loyalty.

What can you learn from the humor of these brands? It is simple: create content that people can relate to. When creating content it can be easy to get carried away thinking way too hard about how to stand out. Sure, sometimes this is necessary to create a “big” campaign but for the most part, the content is laying right in front of you. Know your brand and learn about your audience and their behavior. Then, create content that they can relate to: add a little creativity and you'll have genuine and authentic content!

Giovanna Michelle Hernândez is a Social Media Specialist at Volusion. She has been working with Social Media clients for over 2 years and carries a vast amount of knowledge from working with small-medium sized brands to bigger ones such as Target Baby and Budweiser.
She graduated from Red McCombs Business School at The University of Texas at Austin and currently resides in Austin. Some of her biggest passions include travel, blogging, interior design, and capturing moments. She is a huge foodie and can never stop eating gluten-free pizza or supporting small local businesses in town.